Articles

Jason Snell spends a lot of time in his garage. It’s where the Mill Valley resident records and hosts numerous podcasts. Most weeks, he records five podcasts — with the help of co-hosts and panelists — for

When volunteering for the 1984 Olympics, Naomi Saunders saw firsthand how athletes “choked” under pressure. This experience, along with her own as a dancer, — the first Anglo-American member of the Ethnic Mexican Dance Troupe — led the San Rafael resident to explore the mind-body connection in sports.

When Valerie Carter’s daughter Grace came home from school — like any parent — Carter wanted to know how her day went. But, because Grace has Down syndrome and apraxia, it was difficult for her to answer and for the two to communicate.

As surfers, Ben Judkins and Taylor Lane are no strangers to spotting cigarette butts littered along the beaches. Knowing the discarded cigarette butts often end up in the ocean, the pair — along with volunteers at beach cleanups — combed beaches for them and created a surfboard using the 10,000 cigarette butts they found and Styrofoam from fish markets.

When she faced hardships, Carlyn Montes De Oca relied on her animals to help her overcome them. She thought she just had a special connection to her pets. But her clients at her San Anselmo business, Modern Alchemy Acupuncture & Nutritional Counseling, told her the same thing.

While caring for Josh, an 8-year-old boy with a rare, aggressive type of liver cancer, his nurse Laura Euphrat saw how it was the little things that made him happy. The avid Giants fan — whose hospital room was covered in Giants memorabilia — smiled for the first time in weeks, when Euphrat got then-Giants manager Dusty Baker to visit Josh in the hospital.

Dick Miner knows a lot about San Anselmo. He can point out the building where George Lucas once had an office. He can tell you about when trains passed through town and a time when its residents were predominantly conservative.

Tom Verkozen doesn’t talk a lot about his experiences in Vietnam or tell many people that he’s a Vietnam vet, let alone, a disabled one. But, being a veteran has influenced his more than 30-year career as a Realtor.

It’s fair to say Bobbie O’Neale has had an eclectic career. After studying microbiology and public health at the University of California at Berkeley in the early ’60s, she worked as a public health microbiologist, medical technologist and research technologist at numerous universities.

Many would say Steven Newmark had it all. He was a successful psychotherapist, author and lecturer who lived in Mill Valley with all the trappings of wealth. Yet, the former hippie was unhappy and unfulfilled.

When Lorraine Lesser’s hearing-impaired husband, Wayne, suffered a severe stroke in March 2016 and was taken to the hospital, she was shocked to see how unprepared the staff were to treat someone with a hearing-impairment.

Just as Karen Atkins’ music career was taking off in her early 20s, she stopped. Fearing she was going to lose her soul, her journey to find herself led her to alternative health, and for the next 20 years, she studied and taught close to 50 different health and healing modalities such as essential oils and qigong.

As a student at the United Nations School in New York, Justine Reichman was taught to be empathetic and open toward other cultures and backgrounds. The Larkspur resident carried that philosophy into her business.

The plan was for Ron Ramin to go to law school. But, he knew composing music was his calling. After graduating from Princeton University, he packed up and headed west to Los Angeles and began composing music for television and film.

Growing up in Paris, Epsy Guemar baked French desserts and pastries alongside her mom and her grandfather. Through her company, Parisian Macarons, she teaches others how to create healthier versions of the French treat at the Golf Clubhouse in Mill Valley, Belvedere Community Center and the Ranch in Tiburon.

On any given school day, you can spot Reed Elementary School’s crossing guard Thomas Holmes in his yellow vest, holding a red stop sign at Lyford Drive and Tiburon Boulevard. Known for giving many high-fives on the job, the 71-year-old Mill Valley resident was named crossing guard of the year by Transportation Authority of Marin.

When Sonja Gumpert retired, she took up something she always wanted to try: art. She picked up the paintbrush, began taking classes and took a liking to pastels and watercolors. Now Gumpert, 92, who lives at Drake Terrace in San Rafael, for the past five years has taught art to the senior living community’s residents.

Alice Rocky’s 40-year-career teaching yoga at the College of Marin happened by accident. The Larkspur resident — who was a dance major in college and taught dance at other schools — thought she was applying for a position to teach dance.

For Britta Cox’s hair care routine, a cotton bath towel wasn’t cutting it. It didn’t remove excess water, was heavy and hard to keep balanced on her head. The Novato resident’s search for something better led her to create hair towels and turbans through her company

For Yvonne Robinson, it was healing and uplifting to strut down the runway with fellow breast cancer survivors as part of Stepping Out to Celebrate Life’s fashion show. Now the fashion show’s producer, the 59-year-old Strawberry resident helps breast cancer survivors have a similar experience and “celebrate their new normal.

For Point Reyes native and poet Erin Rodoni, 38, self expression has always meant creating combinations of words that have rhythm and music, all while telling a personal story. After graduating from UC Berkeley Rodoni, niece of Marin Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, lived in various cities around the world with her husband, Yatindra Pandya, while working as a massage therapist.

As a deaf woman, Lindsay Kaye knows firsthand the frustrations of deaf- and hearing-impaired women. Through her work as a doula, she wants to make sure all women — including those who are deaf and hearing-impaired — feel at ease and supported before, during and after childbirth.

As a child, Jackson Currier grew up playing on Marin Shakespeare Company sets. Now, he designs them. Currier — whose parents, Robert and Lesley, co-founded the Marin Shakes in 1989 — has been the set designer for the nonproft for the past four years.

With his gaunt, stern, even brooding image, Chief Deputy Public Defender David Brown has been one of the more distinctive characters at the Marin County courthouse for decades. Yet his intense appearance belies a disarming modesty and a soft spot for society’s downtrodden.

Elizabeth Flanagan wants to be a “kind-hearted Picasso.” An artist for more than 30 years, the San Anselmo resident has organized events that connect and help others. She’s highlighted local artists and their work at an annual art show,

After losing both of his parents at a young age, Frank Ostaseski channeled his pain into a life of service. Ostaseski, 65, of Sausalito, has been an advocate for contemplative end-of-life care, and was honored by the Dalai Lama for his years of service to the dying.

As a child, Morgan Giammona would often give eggs from his handful of chickens to his grandparents. That led the 22-year-old Point Reyes resident to hatch a thriving business. His Marshall-based company,

Ido Yoshimoto has spent most of his life working with wood. For nearly 20 years, he has climbed, trimmed and cut down trees as an arborist. Now, thanks to a grant from Pirkle Jones Fund’s Visual Artist Support Program, Yoshimoto, 38, is able to transition into being a woodworker and artist full time.

What you may see as trash, Zen Du sees as treasure. As an artist, the Novato resident incorporates and re-purposes trash — mostly gum and candy wrappers — into her artwork, and teaches children how to utilize everyday materials to create their own work.

Richard Pedemonte is known by many as Mr. Fairfax. The Fairfax resident’s civic service for the town spans 19 years, during which he was Fairfax Festival director, Fairfax Brewfest director, Fairfax Chamber of Commerce commissioner and president, and Park and Rec Commission chairman, among others.

An Argentine tango instructor once told Debbie Goodwin that it takes two decades to be competent at the dance. The San Anselmo resident has now been dancing it for 21 years. Goodwin, 57, spends her days teaching Argentine tango classes with her husband and dance partner, John Campbell, at

When Shamini Dhana’s daughter was born, she searched for a sustainable fashion brand for her. When Dhana couldn’t find one, she decided to make one herself. The 51-year-old Mill Valley resident created ethical fashion brand

Marilynn Preston has been on the fitness beat for 41 years, and she’s still going strong. For decades, the 70-year-old Tiburon resident has written about healthy living in her weekly column Energy Express.

Don Lara has continuously roamed Marin’s Highway 101 corridor for nine years. The 47-year-old Cotati man, a tow truck driver with Freeway Service Patrol, helps motorists stranded on the highway with popped tires or who have run out of gasoline.

Two years ago as a high school sophomore, Sona Dolasia, of Mill Valley, brought robotics to Marin youth. She launched Reaching Out With Robotics, a program allowing middle-schoolers to get hands-on with technology.

She was there when the Belvedere Tiburon Library first opened its doors and as its offerings went digital. Deborah Mazzolini, of Tiburon, has helmed the Southern Marin library’s ship as its director since its inception 20 years ago.

Leonard Malherbe, of Mill Valley, was 10 years old when he first picked up a tennis racquet. The year was 1937. Now at 90 years old, Malherbe still takes to the courts five times a week at the Club at Harbor Point in striking all-white attire.

Twenty years ago, Barbara McDonald wrote a story loosely based on the final hours of San Francisco’s Lone Mountain College before its 1978 closure. Today, the Mill Valley resident, 78, is preparing for the story’s July 18 book release.

Over the past year, Ken Wachtel of Mill Valley has poured 200 hours into preserving his city’s history. The former mayor and city councilman helped restore the replica gravity car that has become a fixture in Mill Valley’s downtown depot plaza.

Growing up with dyslexia, Don Carney had a difficult time as a youngster. He was labeled unintelligent and was marginalized. After eventually learning he suffered from the disorder, the Fairfax resident studied psychology, philosophy and political science, and began working with children with their own struggles.

With her hands hovering over and lightly touching a patient’s head, torso and limbs, Margaret Beyer heals and relaxes. Over the past five years, the 72-year-old has practiced a unique Japanese technique on those near death.